Spider-Man: No Way Home - 4/5

This movie is attempting to be a love-letter to Spider-Man fans and MCU fans alike, and in many ways it succeeds. There’s much better character development here than in the previous two Spider-Man movies, and the main cast rises to the challenge with superb acting. The fight scenes are much better than Far From Home, both in conception and execution. That being said, the first half hour is pretty painful in its attempts at humor and there are a few throw-away lines that are cringey attempts at being ‘woke’. At this point in the MCU every film is carrying a lot of baggage, and how this one hits any given audience member will only vary more and more, this film very much included.

Closest comparison: It’s like Spider-Man: Far From Home by way of Doctor Strange (2016).

Setting: Super Hero
Plot: Sci-Fi
Tone: Comedy

King of Thieves (2018) - 2/5

This movie was slow and boring, an especially egregious fault in a heist movie. It combines a drama about aging and recapturing spent youth with a jewel heist but doesn’t bother to blend the two genres, leaving the final product disjointed and stodgy. The impressive list of acting talent is undercut by flaccid dialogue and weak stakes. There’s no reason to waste time on this film when there are so many better alternatives for whatever you were hoping to get out of it.

Closest comparison: It’s like Going In Style (2017) by way of The Irishman.

Setting: Heist
Plot: Heist
Tone: Drama